EU Referendum

22nd February 2016

We have nothing to fear from a British Exit from the European Union. Now the Prime Minister has concluded his negotiations, you will be subjected to a campaign of fear and myth as those wedded to the failing European project seek to scare you into a vote for remain.

I have been a Eurosceptic for many years and fought against proposals to join the Euro more than a decade ago. It is widely accepted that joining the Euro would have been an economic disaster for this Country given the recent issues in the Eurozone, yet the same people who said our economy could not survive if we didn’t join the Euro are now saying a vote for exit would be a disaster. They were wrong then and they are wrong now.

Look at the arguments the pro Europeans are using, for instance that the EU has kept peace in Europe. This is of course a nonsense as it is NATO that has kept the peace in Europe and beyond. To suggest it is the EU is disingenuous in the extreme.

The second scare argument is around the issue of trade and the single market. There are two striking facts, firstly the UK is the 5th largest economy in the world. Secondly we buy far more from the EU than they buy from us, £59 billion more in 2014 to be exact. The pro Europeans like to run us down as an insignificant island that cannot cope on its own without the guiding hand of Brussels. If that were true, how does it explain the £24 billion trade surplus the UK has with non EU Countries i.e The rest of the world.

In simple terms, if we withdraw from the EU, is it credible for the remaining members who make a net £60 billion from the UK to refuse to trade or that they would wish to impose taxes and tariffs. BMW, Audi, VW and Mercedes sold over 600,000 cars in the UK in 2014. Are these companies going to stand for the EU restricting their trade with the world’s 5th biggest economy? Of course not, especially when you consider the current precarious economic situation in the EU. When you hear the argument that 3 million British jobs are dependent on EU trade, also bear in mind that 5 million European jobs are dependent on selling goods to the UK .

In recent years, the UK has enjoyed the highest economic growth rate in the G7 and outstrips the developed economies in Europe. One of the reasons for this is because we have not been shackled to the dead weight that is the Euro. As a market, the EU is barely growing, the real growth opportunities are in the emerging economies in Asia and South America, not in Europe.

Then there is the issue of the organisation itself, something you will find the pro Europeans are loath to mention. Auditors have now refused to sign off the EU’s Accounts for over 20 years. Galling when you consider we contribute £12 billion a year to the EU budget with precious little of it finding its way back to the UK. It is a fundamentally undemocratic and corrupt organisation, and have no doubt that its ultimate aim is to create a United States of Europe which will override sovereign Parliaments.

So my message is: do not be taken in by the arguments of scare and fear. A British exit will not result in war, millions of job losses, recession or isolation. The European project is doomed to failure with the migrant crisis proving how divided its Countries are, and the dominance of Germany. The economic union has brought the EU to its knees ,the Schengen free movement area encouraged huge unsustainable population movements and an ever closer political union threatens something even worse. We have one chance to unshackle ourselves from the ball and chain which is EU membership and I will be doing all I can to make the argument for Brexit which I believe is in the UK's and its citizen's best interest. I urge all those who agree to contact me to join the campaign.